Michaela Saunders, Kansas State University leadership communication doctoral student and communication coordinator and assistant to the vice president of academic affairs at Washburn University, and Kerry Priest, Ph.D., associate professor in the Staley School of Leadership and director of K-State’s leadership communication doctoral program, were presenters at the Leadership Educators Institute (LEI), Dec. 13-15, in New Orleans.
A partnership between National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), The American College Personnel Association College Student Educators International (ACPA), and the National Clearinghouse for Leadership Programs (NCLP), the LEI provides a unique opportunity for all professional levels within the field of leadership education to engage in critical dialogue to promote positive, sustainable change on their campuses.
The bi-annual conference is a space and resource for professional learning and development.
Saunders and Priest presented the workshop titled, Stories in Action: Developing a Leadership Educator Change Narrative to Navigate Your Uncertain and Complex World.
Their session provided an opportunity for leadership educators to connect, reflect, and consider the role of their own story in navigating complex change. Participants engaged in a guided process to identify opportunities and possibilities in the midst of complexity. The goal was for participants to develop a change narrative – a story that guides present actions in pursuit of future personal and professional goals – and make commitments to actions that will help them live out that story.
“To equip ourselves and others to navigate change through leadership education and development requires new ways of thinking about and engaging in professional development. We were facilitators and co-learners, sharing a process for individual professional development that also contributes to a larger leadership community of practice,” said Priest.
Advancing leadership learning and development is a focus area of the Staley School. The faculty and graduate students contribute scholarship that advances the broader field of leadership studies and supports the professional development of leadership educators and developers.
